Of course not real ones, but the ones in speeches. Babies still are being loved, cared for and cuddled. I talk about stories a speaker loves when they disturb a speech. But how is it possible personal stories disturb a speech? I myself train people to use personal stories.
Recently I listened to a speech in which the speaker presented the motto: “Change for the better – not for fun!” His presentation started excitingly and he led us to the Massai who promoted that motto. But then he changed to the subject of misusing english words in german (in german it´s called “Denglish”) and ranted a bit before changing again to “Change for the better…”. The audience was confused as he didn´t connect these topics in any way.
Later the speaker confirmed that “Denglish” is one of his emotional topics about which he could rant endlessly, but he also perceived the confusion of the audience. But: how can we prevent ourselves from such?
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So many times I observe speakers who tell a great story – only I miss the purpose in their speech. Especially recently I observed this: as top executive I am regularly the district representative on conferences of the European Toastmasters. Those conferences host the contests for the winners who compete at the European championship.
